Absolution of Guilt
by chocoluvr
Summary: [Deathly Hollows Spoilers]After the war, Neville Longbottom goes to visit a friend in the long term ward at St. Mungo's and apgologizes for him being in there in the first place.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter

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The young man who came into the locked ward at St. Mungo's was a familiar face, though no one had seen him there in a year, since his loved ones were taken abroad to a private clinic. Of course during the last year, after the Ministry fell to the Death Eaters, many of the family members who could do so placed their loved ones in private clinics for their own safety. The young man who he was going to visit unfortunately was seriously injured during the last few months of the war, during an extremely long and difficult dention session at Hogwarts were both of the boys attended school. Of course there had been changes since the last time that he had been here, encouraged by the families who had sent their family members abroad and now had returned since the war was over. This was unlike the other visits that this young man had made to the ward when he was younger, this was the first time that he'd ever visited without his grandmother and he wasn't here to visit his parents. When he got to Michael's bed towards the back of the ward, which was incidentally his father's old bed he stopped and sat beside his bed. 

"I'm so sorry that you're in here, I should of known better than to have you write those sayings on the wall, since I should know what the true consequences of the Carrows' dentions would be since I knew the method of torture that they used all too well. I have to live with the consequences of it for the rest of my life, first with my parents and now you. Of course Harry came back and defeated Voldemort like we all knew that he would. Too bad you weren't there to see it, though I did continue with the resistance after your injury, though I was smarter about how to go about resisting the Carrows though. I wish that you didn't even have to be here, I wouldn't even wish this fate on my worst enemy. Hopefully they'll treat you well here and not try to harm you, especially since the Death Eaters have taken over the hospital. Maybe I'll found a place where people like you and my parents can go to where they can have more room to roam around in, but for now they're in a private clinic in Switzerland. Of course I could try to raise the funds for you to go, but of course your parents would have to agree to it, I don't know if they would want to be far away from you. If it weren't for the war you wouldn't be able to benefit from the experience that other family members had while sending their loved ones abroad for their own good. At least now, the majority of them, me included are petitioning the staff at St. Mungo's to implement some of the therapies used by the foreign healers, even hiring new Healers who are trained in those therapies. One of them is learning how to communicate with a communications board like my parents do, and from what I hear you'll learn how to in a few weeks too. I hope that you forgive me for all that I've done to you," Neville told his old classmate.

When he turned around he saw Mr. and Mrs. Corner standing behind him. "How much of that did you hear?" Neville asked looking nervous.

"Enough to know that you shouldn't blame yourself for this, you actually stood up to those evil people and fought for what was right. You didn't do this to him. Besides you were one of the ones to work towards getting these patients better care, after being exposed to the way that other countries treat these type of injuries," Mrs. Corner answered him while giving Neville a hug to show that all was forgiven and that she was grateful for all that he had done for their son.

When Neville left the hospital later on, he felt like he had a big weight off his chest lifted and lighter than he had ever felt in the past year. Though he did visit Michael and eventually his parents when they returned to England about once a week, telling about his job first at St. Mungo's as a research herbologist and then eventually as a professor of herbology at Hogwarts. He was pleased at the progress that the three of them made and the first words that Michael "typed" for him on his communication board brought tears to his eyes. He told Neville that "You didn't do anything to put me in here. I'm just glad to be alive right now,"


End file.
